Introduction

This VB100 test looks at the range of products available to users and admins of Microsoft's Windows 2012 Server. Our server tests usually see a somewhat reduced field of participants compared with desktop tests, since some consumer-oriented vendors don't support server platforms. From a testing perspective this is generally a double win, as not only do we have fewer products to wrestle with, but server-based products also tend to be more stable, and less prone to unwanted surprises. This month's field of participants consisted almost entirely of products which take part regularly in our comparatives, most of which routinely perform well, so we looked forward to a relatively trouble‑free test.

Platform and test sets

Windows 2012 Server has been around for a few years and has yet to be superseded by the forthcoming 2016 edition, which is due for release later this year. With the platform having appeared in several of our tests already, minimal preparation work was required – it was simply a matter of our lab team digging out and dusting off the test system images used in previous comparatives, with a few minor tweaks and updates to ensure all was working smoothly.

This allowed us a little extra time to focus on decluttering and expanding our clean test sets, which are due for a full‑scale overhaul fairly soon but which, for now, continue to combine swathes of items added immediately before each comparative, with the most prevalent and widely deployed items from the last few years. The other part of our certification set was based on version 4.027 of the WildList, which was released some time prior to the test deadline thanks to there having been some labour problems with the company that maintains the list (which, thankfully, were resolved swiftly). There were few changes to our performance tests, thus allowing reasonably close comparison of these results with those of previous tests on similar platforms, and the sample sets used for the RAP detection scores were gathered in the usual manner, combining the most common items in widespread distribution among researchers in the few days prior to testing.

Avast's recent test record is pretty exemplary, with just a single fail almost falling off the end of our two‑year history listing. This month, stability was reasonable with only minor problems, performance was good, with an acceptable slowdown of our set of tasks, and detection was generally pretty strong. With a clear run through the certification sets, Avast gets this test off to a good start with a VB100 award.

AVG can boast a flawless record in our tests in the last couple of years, and this month it also notched up a perfect stability score. With strong detection rates and fairly light performance impact, a good performance in the certification sets rounds off another strong month for AVG.

Avira's recent test record is also strong, with only a few tests skipped around the time of the Windows 10 launch and no fails in the last several years. This month once again we saw reasonable performance impact and decent detection rates. Stability issues were minimal too, with the app crashing – fairly gracefully and only once – after a very heavy scan job. With no problems in the certification sets, a VB100 award is comfortably earned by Avira.

Bitdefender can also be proud of a perfect record in VB100 tests in the last two years, with an unbroken record stretching back quite some way further. This month all was well once again, with another perfect stability score, decent detection levels, and pleasingly low performance impact. An impeccable job in the certification sets means there is yet another VB100 award for Bitdefender.

CYREN's venerable Command product has picked up a good few passes in the last couple of years, interspersed with sporadic false positive issues. This month it did well again, with good stability (only a single incident of a large scan crashing out), strong detection rates and low resource usage, although as on previous occasions, our set of activities exhibited a significant slowdown. The certification sets were dealt with properly once again though, and another VB100 award goes to CYREN.

Another product that has not failed a VB100 test in the last two years, and which has only skipped our annual visits to Linux, Emsisoft also pulled off a perfect stability rating, along with good detection and fairly low performance impact. A similarly strong showing in the certification sets means there is another VB100 award for Emsisoft.

Another vendor joining the ranks of those with a perfect 12 out of 12 in the last two years of VB100 testing, eScan put in another creditable showing this month, with decent stability, light performance impact and reasonable detection rates. The core certification sets were handled well, and eScan's run of success continues with another VB100 award.

Although far from the only product this month to boast a recent record of 12 passes from 12 tests, ESET's run of excellence stretches back significantly further than that, with all tests entered and passed for many years now. This time all was pretty splendid once again, with a good showing in all parts of the test and decent stability. With yet another flawless run over the certification sets, ESET's tally of VB100 awards increases still further.

Just missing out on a perfect record thanks to the lack of a Linux product to enter into our Linux tests, ESTsoft can be proud of a very strong chain of passes in the last few years. This month all was in order, with impeccable stability, low resource usage, reasonable impact on our set of activities, and another good showing in the core sets, all of which earns ALYac another VB100 award.

Fortinet's desktop product is another strong performer in our tests, and once again put in a good performance this month with just a few fairly minor stability issues, decent detection rates, low use of RAM while CPU use was a little on the high side, and a reasonable hit on the speed of our set of common tasks. The certification sets presented no difficulties, and Fortinet adds another VB100 award to its collection.

G Data's business product generally appears in our server tests, putting in similarly strong performances to the consumer versions we see in desktop comparatives. This month was no different, with another excellent set of detection numbers in the reactive sets; some issues at submission time meant we were not able to collect proactive/offline figures. Stability was good, with just a single scan crash, performance impact was pretty high with a fairly serious slowdown of our set of activities, but with awesome coverage and a perfect run through the certification sets, a VB100 award is earned comfortably.

Ikarus generally puts in good performances in our tests, and this month did well once again with a perfect stability rating. Detection was strong, performance impact pretty reasonable, and with another perfect run through our certification sets, another VB100 award is easily earned.

The iSheriff solution has had some wobbles in recent tests, with a couple of short-lived bursts of false positives, but otherwise it usually does well. Another perfect stability rating was notched up this month, alongside some good detection rates and minimal performance drag. The core certification sets were covered well, with help from the Bitdefender engine, and a VB100 award is earned.

K7's Total Security product has become familiar over the last few years, with its rugged looks reflecting the general stability of the product, which routinely scores well in our stability measures. This month stability was not quite as good as we're used to, although the only issue we encountered – a complaint about a memory error shortly after installation – did not seem to cause any discernible problems. Elsewhere detection was good and performance impact light. A clear run through the core sets earns K7 another VB100 award.

Kaspersky Lab's Small Office solution appears in many, if not all of our tests, and this month caused our testers minimal trouble with no stability problems to interrupt the flow. Performance impact was not excessive. There are no RAP detection figures to report, but a clean sweep in the certification sets earns Kaspersky another VB100 award.

Microsoft's System Center products, essentially the business cousins of the default Defender solution for home users, routinely put in dependable performances in our tests. This month we saw another perfect round in terms of stability, coupled with acceptable detection levels and average system impact. The certification sets presented no problems, and a VB100 award is duly granted.

Back on form after a brief absence from our tests, Qihoo's 360 line continues to do well. Stability this month was decent, with just one minor glitch during an update and another which froze a browser during a speed test. Detection was strong and performance impact negligible, with our set of activities running through very rapidly indeed. The certification sets presented no problems, and a VB100 award is easily earned.

Our other regular from China, Tencent managed to record no stability issues at all this month, alongside decent detection and light impact on system performance. The core certification sets were handled well, earning Tencent another VB100 award.

The final product this month is TrustPort, which regularly achieves excellent detection levels. Things were no different this month with very high scores in all sets, coupled with impeccable stability and reasonably light impact on performance. With no problems to report in the certification sets, TrustPort also earns a VB100 award.

Results tables

Conclusions

As mentioned in the introduction to this report, the products we see submitted for server tests tend to be more reliable and higher quality on average, and this month's line-up proves this rule – with all participating products achieving certification. We also saw minimal stability issues, with no participant rated lower than 'stable'. The high pass mark does not imply any reduction in the rigour of the VB100 process, but rather a better effort on the part of the participants – by design, the certification components of our test should be achievable on a regular basis by all respectable anti-malware solutions, and a single pass should be considered far less significant an event than a fail. To get a clear picture of how a product performs in the long term, it is important for readers to consider the history data we record in these reports, as well as in more detail on our website (www.virusbulletin.com).

While the small and stable group of participants made for a pleasingly painless month for the test team, there were, as always, plenty of things to keep us busy, contributing to the late distribution and rather curtailed nature of this report. To combat these issues, and free up more time for the lab team to work on the development of new and more demanding tests, we are investigating several proposals, including further simplification of the VB100 process and a shift to a more settled pattern of test platforms, as well as the separating out of the performance tests to their own standalone setup, with results published more frequently. As always, we welcome thoughts, comments and feedback from our readers – contact us on vbtest@virusbulletin.com.

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